This professional technique
Crimson-Fuji Inaniwa udon, cloud-white abalone, tempura bits, aromatics
COOKING INGREDIENTS
This professional technique
FREE
Ingredients
- Serves 4
- Cost: ¥3,000
- Cooking time: 1 hr
- Cooks: 1
Martō katsuobushi, mebushi shavings
17 g
Ejō barracuda niboshi, Himi
1 whole
Light soy sauce
60 ml
Kanko mirin
60 ml
Red abalone (1 whole)
120 g
Dried Inaniwa udon
120 g
Red-core daikon
100 g
Ginger
a pinch
Japanese chives
2 stalks
Method
Method
① Add soy sauce and mirin to 600 cc of water (alkaline water works too), put in bonito flakes and dried kamasu (barracuda), and set it over heat; once it boils, lower the heat, cook off the alcohol from the mirin, then strain it. Afterward, let it cool.
② Remove the abalone from its shell, trim off the frill (engawa), divide it into 8 pieces, and deep-fry it in tempura batter. Grate only the white core on a grater.
③ Boil the Inaniwa udon, plunge it into cold water, and drain it in a colander.
④ Grate only the red core of the red-heart daikon (aka-shin daikon).
⑤ For the Aka-Fuji (red Mt. Fuji presentation), line the inside of a funnel with cellophane, press the grated red-heart daikon onto it, fill the center with the boiled Inaniwa udon, press it firmly, drop it out into a serving bowl, and peel off the cellophane.
⑥ Garnish with grated ginger and thinly sliced asatsuki as condiments.
⑦ Use the tenkasu (crispy bits, tanuki-style) left over from deep-frying the abalone.
⑧ Serve it as a bukkake-style (broth-poured) noodle dish.
Want to check the seasoning blend before you cook?
COMMENT
So that it's clear the tanuki — the shape-shifting trickster of folklore — has transformed itself into Crimson Fuji, I scattered tenkasu, the fried batter bits left over from frying the abalone that are also nicknamed 'tanuki,' around the udon shaped like Mt. Fuji. It's a dish I'm happy to serve if its playful spirit comes across. For drawing the dashi, I used dried barracuda from Toyama. Barracuda has a strong aroma as well as strong umami, so it really lifts the flavor of the dashi. Red-core daikon is normally used from spring through summer, in salads or grated, but I thought about whether I could put this color to some use, and I've likened it here to Crimson Fuji. Its clean, refreshing flavor doesn't get in the way of the udon and pairs very well with it.